Now that this round of the market has come this far, we must acknowledge one point: the crypto world is not cold, but the presence of retail investors is indeed getting weaker. Bitcoin has reached new highs, ETFs, AI, and RWA have taken turns, the narratives on-chain are becoming fancier, and there are more and more institutional investors, but ordinary people are increasingly 'lost'. Why? Because the way to play this game is no longer the same as the previous round.
How did retail investors enter the market before? By relying on an illusion of 'getting rich'. A picture, a coin, an airdrop, casually finding a joke to spin a story, adding a launch time, a few VC endorsements, and an expected listing on Binance can explode in minutes.
But this round? Let's get real: institutions are present, funds emphasize returns, and the narratives driving sales are RWA, ETH ETF, and on-chain structured products. Simply put: it's not that you can't keep up; it's that you haven't even heard of Pendle, EigenLayer, or Rage Trade, let alone jumped on board.
You want to get rich quickly, while others want to arbitrage; you're still waiting for a hundredfold coin, while others are already trading options to profit from volatility.
It's not that retail investors are greedy; they simply have no opportunity. You just see the hype, and as soon as you enter, you become the bag holder. Whatever you buy, you lose; even the project parties are too lazy to spin a story. Launching means high FDV, and any unlocking can lead to a disastrous drop.
Sentiment? It's ineffective.
Telling stories? No one is listening anymore.
The market rhythm is too fast; today it's LRT, tomorrow it's staking again, the day after it's central AI, and retail investors are still checking on Zhihu 'how to recharge Ethereum'. Can you keep up?
So, retail investors are not abandoned, but rather 'incorporated'.
You are still useful—KYC links, airdrop participants, early traffic, community atmosphere builders. Projects are not afraid of you losing money; they fear you not participating. So retail investors still exist, but they are no longer the beneficiaries; they are the targets of the 'design'. You are no longer the protagonist but a 'user data point' in the system.
Airdrops? Still effective. But the barriers are getting higher; you need to stake, be active, pay Gas, and place orders. The threshold for grabbing free tokens is increasingly like going to work.
Altcoins? There are still opportunities. But the premise is that you can understand, compete, buy early, and sell decisively.
If you don't want to research, are too lazy to learn on-chain data, and only want to copy trending topics to jump on board, then this old-fashioned type of retail investor has indeed been eliminated. Now, only 'research-oriented retail investors' are qualified to stay.
**Ethereum is equally important.** Don't say retail investors don't buy BTC; ETH is the king of altcoins. If ETH doesn't perform, altcoins have no vehicle, no direction, and no faith. If Ethereum truly launches, the market will rise, and the sentiment will ignite.
Finally, you ask, why are there so many junk coins on exchanges? In a word—money talks.
Don't fantasize that exchanges are a pure land; they are more like casino owners. As long as someone is betting, they will open a table for you. Junk projects throw money, and they still get listed; as liquidity increases, retail investors come flocking.
In summary: it's not that retail investors are useless, but that those who don't know how to play are useless.
If you don't want to be abandoned, you must become stronger. This era does not reject retail investors; it only welcomes those who can understand, compete, and survive. Don't wait for the so-called opportunities to get rich quickly; that's an old story. In the new story, only the 'upgraded' you deserve the dividends.
